Category: Religion

Yup, Joe Dirt thinks about this from time to time.

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Is Jesus descended from Abraham and David?

The big deal of Matthews is that Jesus is a direct descendent of Abraham through Isaac, King David, Solomon and others. Finally in the lineage is Joseph who became the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus.

As Mary was impregnated by the Holy Ghost Joseph did not know Mary sexually until after the birth of Jesus

Question —  How does that make Jesus a descendant of Abraham and the others?  It strikes me that the chain was broken with the “virgin” birth.

See text from the King James version below:

Matthew 1:1The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. Continue reading “Is Jesus descended from Abraham and David?”

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Add Your Own Caption

This is a billboard by a church in Auckland, New Zealand

Add your on text.

I’m going with — “Oh Jesus!”  or perhaps — “Damn…what wild ass story am I going to sale to Joseph so he will still marry me!”

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On the off-chance that the picture is a mystery to you, it is supposed to be the Virgin Mary holding a stick from a pregnancy test that reads positive.

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And Another Thing I Do Not Understand

And another thing I do not understand is this.  Why do Evangelicals always quote scripture to you like that is the final authority on everything?  Obviously, if you are a non-believer, that is a logical argument of the dog chasing his own tail variety.

This branch of religion (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) has it roots in nomads who could not figure out for 40 years how to cross the Sinai Desert to get from Egypt to Israel.  The distance is less than 500 kilometers.  The piece de resistance is that while they wandered for 40 years in this barren place, food rained down from the heavens upon them.  I can think of many places today that this would be a blessing indeed.  I’ve yet to see it though.

Once they finally figured where  the heck Israel was, they went on a genocidal tear to take the land from the inhabitants that were already there.

Then we get into Jesus, a religious figure with no historical record.  It just seems improbably to me that a personage of this import would not put at least a minor verifiable page into history.   All we really have is mythology.  This puts him in the same company as Zeus, Thor, and Shiva.

Put that hound on a trail that I can see, feel, smell or otherwise sense, then get back to me.

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Will Ferrell and Baby Jesus

Okay…I’m trying to understand a couple things that happened the other day.

I walked in a conference room at work. There were a group of folks gathered around a computer monitor. On the monitor was a YouTube clip from Talladega Nights, Will Farrell’s salute to NASCAR.  There were 4, 5 or 6 folks watching the clip which was a scene where Farrell’s character, Ricky Bobby, is praying over a white trash dinner about to be served.  He is praying to “Baby Jesus”.  Shortly Ricky’s wife takes exception with his praying to Baby Jesus.   Ricky’s partner pipes in about a partying Jesus.

There were several folks laughing heartily.  One was nearly falling out of his chair. Let me be frank.  I do not understand Will Ferrell’s popularity.  In my universe he is the un-funniest man in America.  That is the first thing I do not understand. Why is this man even working in show business.

I know for a fact that all of these folks but one would classify themselves as religious.  A couple I would classify as seriously religious.  Now I am an agnostic trending Continue reading “Will Ferrell and Baby Jesus”

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Japanese Emperor Bangs Demonic Sun Goddess

C. Peter Wagner, an endorser of Gov. Rick Perry’s “The Response” prayer rally, explains that the nation of Japan is controlled by a demon spirit (The Sun Goddess) because the Emperor had sexual intercourse with her.

Wagner has been credited with founding the New Apostolic Reformation. This group conducts spiritual warfare against demons, seeks dominion over public institutions and government. Their goal is make America a “Christian” nation as they define it. As I understand they believe that the church leaders are apostles and prophets. Apparently the prophets have conversations with God and relay the skinny to the apostles.  Scary stuff.

C. Peter Wagner article at Wikipedia

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Another Point of View on Pew Poll on Religious Knowledge Among Americans

You may remember a few months back Pew published the results of a poll that showed Agnostics and Atheists knew more about religion than people of faith.   Quiz is gone on their site.

And here is the link to the Pew article on the results of their poll: U.S. Religious Knowledge Survey

Writing in the Scientific American Charles Seife disputes their methodology and analysis of the results.  The article is  The Science of “Disestimation”: The Shortcomings of Opinion Polls with a subtitle of Why we shouldn’t put our faith in opinion polls.

Mr. Seife is probably correct in his assessment.   Statistical analysis is way beyond my realm of knowledge.  I would assume, though, that an organization like Pew would have some statisticians on board…or maybe they should.

Anecdotally from my experience I would tend to agree with Pew.  Most of the Atheists that I personally know have gotten there after much study and thought.  It is not an easy thing to discard the powerful meme that is religion.  Continue reading “Another Point of View on Pew Poll on Religious Knowledge Among Americans”

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Virgin Births, Dime a Dozen

“’Now the birth of Jesus Christ was in this wise.  When his mother, Mary, was espoused to Joseph, before they came together she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.’  Yes, and the Greek demigod Perseus was born when the god Jupiter visited the virgin Danaë as a shower of gold and got her with child. The god Buddha was born through an opening in his mother’s flank. Catlicus the serpent-skirted caught a little ball of feathers from the sky and hid it in her bosom, and the Aztec god Huitzilopochtli was thus conceived. The virgin Nana took a pomegranate from the tree watered by the blood of the slain Agdestris, and laid it in her bosom, and gave birth to the god Attis.  The virgin daughter of a Mongol king awoke one night and found herself bathed in a great light, which caused her to give birth to Genghis Khan.  Krishna was born of the virgin Devaka.  Horus was born of the virgin Iris.  Mercury was born of the virgin Maia. Romulus was born of the virgin Rhea Sylvia.”

The above is from Christopher Hitchens book, god is not Great, How Religion Poisons Everything.

Given his status as journalist and author, I did not feel the need to vet the above information.  I am sure it has been done many times before.

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THE REDNECK’S TEN COMMANDMENTS

Not mine, but too good to not share….even for an agnostic like the old Rev.

 THE REDNECK’S TEN COMMANDMENTS
This is much easier to remember !!!

  1.  Just one God.
  2.  Put nuttin’before God.
  3.  Watch yer mouth.
  4.  Git yourself to Sunday meetin’.
  5.  Honor yer Ma & Pa.
  6.   No killin’.
  7.    No foolin’ around with another feller’s gal (or another gal’s feller).
  8.   Don’t take what ain’t yorn.
  9.   No tellin’ tales or gossipin’.
  10.   Don’t be hankerin’ for yer buddy’s stuff.

Now that’s plain an’ simple. And bless your heart!!!